They say a week is a long time in football, and in Tottenham Hotspur's case, a fortnight is a lifetime.
It was almost two weeks ago that Ange Postecoglou's side were wiping the floor with Premier League Champions Manchester City at the Etihad, and at full-time, there was an expectation that the North Londoners would then go on a run.
However, in the three games since, the Lilywhites have drawn at home with AS Roma and Fulham and lost away to Bournemouth, which makes the prospect of facing Chelsea and the sensational Cole Palmer tomorrow afternoon all the more terrifying.
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What makes it worse is that a player Postecoglou sold in the summer is now playing out of his skin and could well have been Spurs' own Palmer.
Spurs' summer sales
So, before we get to the player in question, let's look at how some of Spurs' other departures are getting on this season, starting with someone who's not having a great time: Emerson Royal.
emerson-royal-tottenham-hotspur-crystal-palace-premier-league-outstanding-revive-mason
The Brazilian full-back joined Serie A giants AC Milan for around £13m, which Italian football writer Kaustubh Pandey described as "a deal for the ages," although not for the right reasons.
In all, the 25-year-old has made 16 appearances for the Rossoneri so far, in which he's failed to score or assist a goal and been so poor that Italian football expert James Horncastle described the fee paid as a charitable 'donation' 'to make his wish to become a footballer come true' - ouch.
Emerson-Royal-AC-Milan
Someone faring a little better away from North London is centre-back Joe Rodon, who joined Leeds United for around £10m at the same time as Archie Gray went the other way.
So far, the 47-capped Welshman has made 19 appearances for the Peacocks, who currently sit third in the Championship, just a point off of second place and three off of first.
joe-rodon-leeds
However, while the 27-year-old defender is doing well in West Yorkshire, another former Lilywhites ace is doing even better and is showing that he could have been Postecoglou's own Palmer.
The former Spurs ace playing like Palmer
So, to get straight to the point, the former Spurs ace in question is midfield marvel Giovani Lo Celso.
Lo-Celso-Spurs
Yes, the Argentine international, who finally departed N17 for good this summer to join La Liga side Real Betis for £8.4m, has been in utterly sensational form and is beginning to play like Palmer.
Now, we say this for a couple of reasons. The first is that, like the Chelsea star, the "unbelievable" 28-year-old, as dubbed by journalist Alex Mitton, has become an increasingly important goal threat for his team this season and has already racked up six in just 11 appearances while also providing an assist for good measure.
However, the other reason is that, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, the Englishman is statistically the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Argentine this season.
We can better understand how they reached this conclusion by examining the underlying numbers in which they rank closely, metrics including but not limited to expected assists, non-penalty goals, shots on target, key passing and goal-creating actions, all per 90.
Lo Celso & Palmer
Statistics per 90
Expected Assists
Non-Penalty Goals
Shots on Target
Goals per Shot on Target
Key Passes
Goal-Creating Actions
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season
Ultimately, while the club couldn't have foreseen such an uptick in form, it certainly feels like they could do with someone like Lo Celso in the squad right about now, and the fact he is performing similarly to Palmer at the moment is just further evidence of his incredible talent.
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